Christine Milne snub to Clive Palmer has greens on edge

Simmering tensions in the conservation community over the Greens' response to Abbott government environment policies are threatening to fracture the party's support base.

At issue is the Greens' refusal to back a return to inflation-based indexation of federal fuel excise - regarded as "perverse" because the party supports price signals on fossil fuels - and Greens leader Christine Milne's claimed hostility to Clive Palmer.

Mr Palmer announced last week his Palmer United Party bloc would join with the Coalition to scrap the carbon tax.

However, it would use its crucial four votes in the Senate to block the government's plan to legislate its "direct action" program and to resist any attempt to dissolve three other institutional pillars of the previous government's clean energy architecture.

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Senator Milne has urged Greens members to contact Mr Palmer's office to complain strongly about the carbon tax demise.

But some renewable energy players are upset their party is undermining the Palmer compromise which they see as a lifeline through the retention of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Climate Change Authority, and protection of the Renewable Energy Target of 20 per cent energy production from green sources by 2020.

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A senior figure in the sector said Senator Milne risked alienating supporters and putting jobs and investment in the renewable sector in further doubt by "running a noisy anti-Clive line and encouraging Greens to ring his office to attack him over repealing the carbon tax".

The worry is that Mr Palmer's belated support for keeping the RET and the two other bodies, could change.

''Bagging Clive might feel good, but it doesn't help lock his votes in for his new position,'' they said.

Coalition MPs are continuing to push for a weakening of the target overall with 25 of them writing to Environment Minister Greg Hunt and Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane seeking a complete exemption for the aluminium industry.

A source close to the Greens said it was obvious everyone in the environment movement had wanted the carbon tax to stay, but it appeared it was only Ms Milne who felt that "nothing is better than something". A spokesman for Senator Milne dismissed the complaint. "There is no rift,'' he said.

''In fact, in our ongoing discussions with environment groups this concern hasn't even been raised once. This is the first we've heard of the suggestion. Christine is much less concerned about anonymous criticism than she is about doing everything we can to save the price on pollution.''

The community-based Solar Citizens organisation has emailed its thousands of members asking them to say thanks to Mr Palmer for saving the RET, the CEFC "green bank", and the Climate Change Authority.

''Palmer's announcement yesterday is big news because the Palmer United Party senators hold the power to stop legislation in the Senate,'' wrote Lindsay Soutar, the group's national director.

The progressive public campaign group GetUp! also was highly supportive of the PUP position despite disappointment over the carbon price.

''In short, if our new Senate votes with Palmer, this will mean we can still make significant progress towards a clean energy future that will fund renewable energy projects,'' it told supporters.